through 2005.
Doesn't include my Sherwood feeders, Oxbow Lake WIldlife Area or
Independence Dam State Park, which have their own pages.

2005
January 2 YELLOWBELLIED
SAPSUCKERat Riverside
Cemetery.1/8/5Work requires
7am to 7pm commitment indefinitely, so was relieved when the weekend
finally arrived-- only to find flooding and deep snow had closed both
Oxbow Lake and Independence Dam. There were
over 100 Robins and Cedar Waxwings in a mixed group at the Kettering
Golf Course SR424/Carpenter. 1/24/5 Went into work
at 5am and home at 8pm per usual this month, but a funeral this
afternoon at least allows me to see the sun for a few hours:
SNOW BUNTINGS were everywhere in small
groups along the 10 miles of SR18 between Sherwood and Hicksville,
the best being 3 separate flocks of about100 each at
Cicero/SR18. Didn't see any on
Jericho, but another 20 or so on
Breininger near the Paulding County Line near the
Cemetery (isn't it terrible to bird during a sad funeral
procession?). Also SR 49 at the Paulding
County Line had another 50 Snow Buntings.1/25/5SR66/WilliamsCoLineRd Two Pheasants in the snow
SR15/Evansport At least 75 Wild Turkeys
near this busy highway. 1/26/5 Nice to be off
work while there's still daylight, admiring Larks and Harriers, and a
MEADOWLARK at Buckskin/Mulligan's Bluff 1/27/5
Power Dam 3 MUTE
SWANS with lotsa gulls (mostly Herring), Canada Geese, and
a few Mallards and one Black Duck. There was a flock of ROBINS flying
across SR18 at Slough Rd. 1/29/5
Jericho/127 14 Wild Turkeys
Rosebrock/Lockwood A flock of Robins!
1/30/5 2 1/2 inches of additional
snow, but did find 4
MEADOWLARKS at Buckskin/Glenburg,
SR15/Evansport had the usual 66 Wild Turkeys, and 4 cock Pheasants
were by the road at Schick/Trinity.
At dusk, I made the final check of short-eared owl
sites for the Winter Atlas: at the NeyWmsCtrCecilRd/FountainStreetRoad site were 7
Pheasants. At the Jericho/FarmerMarkRoad
site were 17 Pheasants; Jericho/Rosedale
30 Pheasants; Jericho/Breininger
4 Pheasants. No short-eared owls. 1/31/5Blosser/SR127
RoughLegged Hawk Glenburg/Lockwood
The FOUR SHORT-EARED
OWLS have returned. 2/1/5Trinity/Lockwood A cock and 3 hen
RingNecked Pheasants2/3/5Lockwood/Glenburg The ShortEared Owls are
awake already at 4:20pm. 2/4/5 SR424/SR281
A strange sight for highway drivers were 10 Great
Blue Herons standing in a line on the river, frozen for miles in
either direction. Power Dam Lotsa Canada
Geese but only 3 of the Rouen-mix ducks that are usually so common
here. Under 10 gulls and one Great Blue Heron. 2/5/5
An Eastern Meadowlark at SR18/Coy and another at
SR18/Ashpacher. A flock of Robins on
US 24 just west of the SR66 exit. Power Dam
About 200 Gulls, all Herring except for a small pod
of 10 RingBilled. 3 Mallard mixes (robbed continually by the gulls),
3 Great Blue Herons, 9 Mallards, and a few (50?) Canada Geese.
2/7/5 Lockwood/Glenburg
RoughLegged Hawk SR18/Bend A wet,
disheveled Cooper's Hawk was being harrassed by a furious Kestrel.
2/8/5 300+ Gulls sat in the
field opposite SR424/SR281 (GM hot water outlet),
200+ sat in the field by the river at SR66/Downs,
50 at Bronson Park,
200+ in the air at Power Dam.
It was too late in the evening to comb through them
for hoping for oddities. I counted TWO-HUNDRED-THIRTY-FIVE
MALE ROBINS at Canal Rd.
2/9/54 Wild Turkeys at Baker/US127.
2/13/52 RoughLegged
Hawks at Glenburg/Lockwood. 2/15/5RoughLegged Hawk SR18/Rosebrock
2/17/5Hundreds of
Gulls (RingBilled and Herring) in the flooded field opposite the
river (SR424 under SR281) with 100 or so Canada
Geese and 20 or so Mallards. On the river was my first PIED-BILLED
GREBE of the season. Oxbow Lake
still frozen. Bend Bridge
promising habitat! but no birds...2/19/5
Amazingly enough enroute home, found AN ADULT BALD
EAGLE with a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK and female Harrier on the ground in a
field at Glenburg/Lockwood! Never saw one there
before! And 37 Wild Turkeys in a new spot, too: SR18/Flickinger!
2/20/5 Checked for the
short-eared owls unsuccessfully in the western spots-- just Pheasants
in the rain. Power Dam nothing at all.
2/24/5 Enroute home I found some
winter birds still here: a flock of LAPLAND LONGSPURS on Lockwood east
of the Bend Road. Scoping them was great but
hard to tell how many there were with no snow cover. 2/25/5
SR 424 Audubon Sanctuary at Carpenter Rd
This was a great place to pull over out of the way of
traffic and admire the courtship of the HOODED MERGANSERS. 6 males
surrounded one female comically threw their hoods at her as if to
impress, then hid the whiteness when one suitor would be attacked by
another. Another pair of Hooded Mergansers serenely sailed unmolested
almost directly to the car. A pair of Mallards lounged on the island
bank, immune to the display not ten feet away. Six Canada Geese and a
few Herring/RingBilled Gulls completed the island inventory.
Power Dam had gulls sitting above
the dam; the water was too rough for anything else below the dam. The
Eagles have moved their nest much closer to SR111. Combed thru
blackbird flocks, succeeding only in documenting thousands of
Starlings, 4000 in one flock on SR66/Flory.
I did find a single RedWinged Blackbird at
Ashwood/SR24. 2/26/5It's another one of those odd
spring/winter-birds-collide-days: Bend/WmsCoLine
2 Snow Buntings SR18/Cicero
My first TURKEY VULTURE of the year!
2/28/5A flock of Wild Turkeys at
US127/Baker; a small flock of Grackles
at the northern edge of Evansport.
3/1/5Only one inch of
blowing snow in spite of predictions, but it was enough to bring out
the winter birds: RoughLegged Hawk at 66/WmsCountyLine,
a flock of 100 Snow Buntings at Christy/Corressel, and a field full of Horned
Larks, Lapland Longspurs and Snow Buntings at Bend/Lockwood.
3/2/5Tried a
different route home to test for Buntings and was not disappointed.
Scott/Glenburg A pure flock of at least
200 Snow Buntings (these were the ones that flew). Scott/Trinity
A field full of Snow Buntings (50%), Horned Larks
(25%) and Lapland Longspurs (25%), or perhaps it so appeared cuz the
Buntings are so easy to see. Scott/Mulligan's Bluff
2 Lapland Longspurs with 6 Larks. Mulligan's
Bluff/Mud Creek 5 Robins looking miserable in a small tree by the
road. Mulligan's Bluff/SR15 A mile from Ney and far
from any river, an adult BALD EAGLE! 3/4/5 HOODED
MERGANSERS were plentiful at the Black Swamp Audubon
Sanctuary on SR424/Carpenter-- SEVENTEEN MALES and only
two females. With them were 5 Wood Ducks (3 male, 2 female), a pair
of Mallards and 6 Canada Geese. Common Mergansers were, well, common
but in widespread pairs from this point downstream to Independence
Dam, which was empty. A Grackle was at Flory/SR66,
10 RedWinged Blackbirds at Lockwood/Glenburg,
Cooper's Hawk at Lockwood/Trinity.
3/5/5 Six Lesser Scaup joined
the Hooded and Common Mergansers at the Black Swamp Audubon
Sanctuary on SR424/Carpenter.
3/9/5Canada Geese, Common and
Hooded Mergansers continue at Preston's Island,
while a MUTE SWAN put in an appearance above
Power Dam. There were also hundreds
of gulls in the air as a juvenile Bald Eagle soared among
them.3/11/52 Wild Turkeys just off
SR66 on Hogenvald. RoughLegged Hawk and
Harrier at Trinity/Ashpacher. 3/12/5 While watching
for new birds on Preston Island (only Common Mergansers
visible), a deer swam from the island, clambered up the bank onto
SR424. She looked at me, looked at the island, looked at me, and then
back, as if she wanted to go but was waiting on something, when a
second deer emerged from the river! I was so astounded at the first,
I had missed the second deer swimming across. Fortunately the raceway
traffic here missed both of them. Bambi is being heavily promoted in
area stores... A previously invisible RedTailed Hawk then flew from
the island to the used-every-year nest near Kettenring Hills.
3/14/5 Bend/Bradshaw
A dozen Canada Geese and four drake GREEN-WINGED TEAL
in this remote farm pond in the middle of nowhere. 3/15/5 10
SANDHILL CRANES while enroute to work at SR15/Evansport
with many deer and turkeys! After work,
Preston Island had 25 Turkey Vultures
circling overhead with a juvenile Bald Eagle harrassing them. Also 2
Crows and many Hooded Mergansers (ten males and one female in one
group!). 3/16/5 Hooded Mergansers were
there per usual at Preston Island.
A SHORT-EARED OWL lingers, flying like a bat, barely
visible in the twilight of 7:15pm. 3/18/5 SR66/WmsCoLn
At least 50 Turkeys Preston Island
Hooded Mergansers Independence Dam
Common Mergansers and 3 Bufflehead Power Dam
above it, 2 pair of Wood Ducks, 2 pair of Mallards
and a smattering of Gulls. 3/21/5 Preston Island
Hooded Mergansers Independence Dam
Common Mergansers, PiedBilled Grebe Switzer/Dowe
DARK RedTailed Hawk. Combing through the new
blackbird flocks find nothing exceptional. Find a flock of Robins
with a single blackbird-- dark purple gloss to the head, smaller
bill, non-grackle tail. Wish I were in California again, had an avid
birder to confirm, or a female bird beside him, but appears to be a
classic BREWER'S BLACKBIRD! 3/23/5 Preston Island
Two pairs of Hooded Mergansers argued with each
other, throwing hoods. 3/25/5 Glenburg/SR15
35 Wild Turkeys trot slowly across an open
field.3/26/5 Coy/SR 18 ROUGH-LEGGED
HAWK less than a mile from home. Lockwood/Ashpacher
Another RoughLegged Hawk. Preston Island
Hooded Mergansers Independence Dam
Common Mergansers Flickinger/Lockwood
a pair of SHORT-EARED OWLS linger. 3/29/5
US24/Egler An adult Bald Eagle flew
up from the side of and over the highway, almost 4 miles north of the
river and his nest at Independence Dam.
3/12/5 Above Power Dam
were the usual Gulls, Mallards and Canada Geese, plus
2 stray Peking Ducks and my first DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT of the
season. A second Killdeer was on SR 2 at the Welcome to
Indiana sign. A DARK-PHASE RoughLegged Hawk was a t SR18 and
Ashpacher. 4/1/5SR18/Coy
Less than a mile from home, a huge flock of Cedar
Waxwings take advantage of crabapples. 4/3/5 Jericho/Rosedale
Hundreds of Pectoral Sandpipers in the air drew my
attention to a newly-constructed marsh here, which also contained 3
pairs of GreenWinged Teal among other waterfowl. The marsh won't be
visible long, after the crops grow...4/7/5 Preston's Island
15 Double-Crested Cormorants. Sherwood
Juncos and Chipping Sparrows mix at the feeders, but
not a tree sparrow in sight. 4/19/5 Preston's
Island 5 Cormorants and FIELD SPEEDWELL (first of year for
me) 4/25/5 Preston's
Island The same 5 Cormorants and my first OSPREY
of the year. 4/28/5 Bend/Lockwood
Exactly 60 AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVERS
(first of year for me) were in this open field not
far from the road. 4/29/5 SR15/Struble
A tom Wild Turkey displayed for all the morning
commuters and his harem. 5/2/5Buckskin/Bend
My first Hummingbird of the year, on my windshield
<frown> Lockwood/Bend Wild Turkey
tom. Carpenter/Stadium An unusual Grackle hanging
with other Grackles in a front yard. Tried to casually videotape at
dusk, without arousing anger in the homeowner. 5/7/5
At Hicksville (Casebere-Miller/SR18) was an adult
male Harrier, harrassed by blackbirds. Awakened in Sherwood
to a calling first-of-season Wood Thrush.
5/9/5 Behnfeldt/Scott Cooper's Hawk
5/11/5 Bend/Lockwood
3 Turkeys and a Coyote with mange. Rethmel/Evansport RedHeaded Woodpecker.
Lockwood/Rosebrock Lone Turkey.
Lockwood/Glenburg Bobolinks and Pheasants
sing and crow, although I can't see either. 6/14/05 More Dickcissels
on Stever Rd south of BannerSchool Rd. Also Rough
Avens.6/15/05Enroute home
from work at Christy/Biderwell I jammed on the brakes
after I heard several and finally spied one VESPER SPARROW
(first of season for me, finally!) running quickly,
hiding behind tiny bean sprouts! From the woods at the other corner
of the wood came the long, clear, loud song of a Wood Thrush.
6/17/05 Enroute home from work
another Mockingbird flew in front of the car
on SR18 at Ashpacher. As I turned around to view
it better, I heard Dickcissels singing in the field on the opposite
corner. Blooms new to me for the year: Queen Anne's Lace, Common
Mullein, Canada Thistle, Gray Dogwood, Common Milkweed, Indian Hemp.
6/18/05Enroute
elsewhere I found Dickcissels at Jericho/Openlander6/21/05 Rosebrock/SR18 The morning greeting in
Chinese history was from a Savannah Sparrow singng, "chiaaaaaaang,
kaiiiiiiiii, shek!" Dickcissels were common on the morning drive in
to work-- especially Lockwood/Kleinhen,Lockwood/Glenburg,
Lockwood/Trinity. 7/8/05Hicksville Power Walk #5, in the
[too] well-manicured park surprised me by yielding Turkey Vulture,
Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Chimney Swift, Barn Swallow, Bluebird,
Robin, Catbird, Starling, RedWinged Blackbird, Grackle, Cedar
Waxwing, Chipping & Song Sparrow, Cardinal, Cowbird, Goldfinch,
House Sparrow (18sp, 35", singletrack) even at our very fast pace.
8/17/05 Preston Island
Dale Becker, Bruce Heater and I canoed over tonight
and found no BIG surprises: YellowBilled Cuckoo, Blue Jays,
Chickadees, Titmice, Nuthatches, Robin, Kingfisher, WhiteTailed Deer,
Turkey Vulture, etc but it was very nice and profoundly relaxingly
quiet. Monarch caterpillars swarmed the Swamp Milkweed with up to 10
caterpillars per plant! And Monkeyflower was a nice find. And a
Sycamore that took all three of us to put our arms around-- a
circumference of about 18 feet! 10/20/05
Power Dam not a single bird.
10/22/5 Glenburg/Lockwood
300 Blue Jays overhead, 2000 Common Grackles on the
ground, both almost pure flocks. 11/3/5 Baker/US127
With this field harvested, a dozen Wild Turkeys were
visible. 11/5/5 US127/Jericho
big flock of Wild Turkeys now visible US24/Baltimore
Rd Small flock of Wild Turkeys11/16/5 Power Dam No birds. 100
Crows over downtown Defiance reminds me that I seldom see this bird
around here...11/18/5 Penney Marsh
Nothing on the water.12/6/05Christy/Schultz A light-phased
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK! At Coy/Lockwood
(only two miles from home) was a small flock of about
40 Larks, 5 Snow Buntings, and 5 Lapland Longspurs 12/7/05Bronson Park
A Cooper's Hawk. I finally found some ducks in this
county but not at Independence Dam, Power
Dam, Oxbow Lake, 66/Downs, or Sherwood Lagoons! Same group
persists in the same numbers at the same place, but allows the car
much closer approach 12/8/05Flickinger at the Defiance/Williams County Line
A flock of about 50 Snow Buntings. 12/10/5
Cicero/SR18 A flock of about 25 Snow
Buntings. SR2/Indiana Line A few Snow Buntings, mixed
with Larks. 12/13/5 Bronson Park
150 Canada Geese Power Dam At least 100
Canada Geese and 100 Mallard/Rouens.12/17/5 Enroute home I
found FIVE SHORT-EARED OWLS in the mile of Buckskin
Road between Trinity & Glenburg. A SIXTH SHORT-EAR
was sitting on a telephone pole at Buckskin/Flickinger.12/19/05Under 30 Canada Geese at Independence
Dam, under 30 at Power Dam, even fewer at
Bronson Park, none at SR66/Greenler. It was very dark (6pm)
when I passed Trinity/Buckskin but a ShortEared Owl
flashed his white underside at my car.12/20/056 Meadowlarks flew up, and my car slid on the shiny
slippery surface sideways down Lockwood Rd near
Mulligan's Bluff as I slowed to take a closer look. On
US127/Buckskin, 25 Snow Buntings flew up from the
roadside.12/23/05Enroute home
from work, 4:10pm to 5:10pm: 24 Snow Buntings (on Brandt west
of Moser) and 24 Wild Turkeys (on Allen west of Moser).
15 American Tree Sparrow, 50 Starlings, 38 Horned Larks, 5 House
Sparrows, 6 Juncos, 31 Mourning Doves, a RedTailed Hawk, 3 Song
Sparrows , 30mi in extreme NE section of Oxbow Lake Count
area12/26/05Returned home in
time to get an hour of birding in, from 4pm to 5pm. The SHORT-EARED
OWLS were still in the Buckskin/Trinity
fields. RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS are in the woods on
Switzer east of Kleinhein. RingNecked Pheasants, 2 at
Trinity/Lockwood, 3 at Buckskin/Mulligan's Bluff. 4 American Tree Sparrows,
1 Blue Jay, 1 Cooper's Hawk, 73 Starlings, a Harrier, 34 Horned
Larks, 6 House FInches, 20 House Sparrows, 4 Juncos, 5 Kestrels, 60
Mourning Doves, 2 RedTailed Hawks. 35mi in southern NW section of
Oxbow Lake Count area, to Blosser inclusive. Independance Dam-- duck
hunter on island by the dam. Lotsa deer. 12/27/05After work
4:20pm to 5pm, 20mi in the southern half of the bird-forsaken
northeast quadrant of the Oxbow Lake Christmas Bird Count area: a
BlackCapped Chickadee, Cooper's Hawk (Flory west of Adam's Ridge
Road), a Cardinal, 69 House Sparrows, a Kestrel, 48 Mourning
Doves, 188 Starlings. Then 5pm to 5:20, 12 miles in only the rural
parts of the eastern section: 2 American Tree Sparrow, 114 Canada
Geese, 1 Great Blue Heron, 30 Mallards, 3 Mourning Doves, a RedTailed
Hawk, 2 Song Sparrows. Of course, it is the worst time to bird, but
the only time I have... 12/29/5 4:15pm to 5:10pm
33mi 3 Bluebirds, 1 Cardinal, 2 Cooper's Hawk (Evansport,
Schultz/Christy), Hairy Woodpecker, 36 House
Sparrows, 3 Kestrels, 4 Mourning Doves, 4 RedTailed Hawks, 133
Starlings, Nuthatch, north central section.12/30/05After work 4:20pm to 5:30pm, 40mi in the southwest
quadrant of the Oxbow Lake Christmas Bird Count area. Notable were
the misses, since the bald eagles weren't on their nest at
SR111 and no short-eared owls
or even harriers were on the perfect-looking fields of
Powers Rd: 62 Canada Geese, 1
Mallard (flyovers), a Kestrel, a RedTailed Hawk and 38 Starlings.

20041/6 StateRoute18/Bend Rd Pheasants out in the open trying
to find food in all the hard snow. 1/8 Oxbow Glenburg between Buckskin and
Lockwood was
Hawk City today with Kestrel, Harrier (including an adult male), and
RedTails galore. One particularly interesting juvenile RedTail would
not leave her rabbit dinner so that I could pass. Finally, when I
crept within 10 feet, she took the rabbit with her to the other side
of the roadside ditch. This pic is thru' the windshield. I shot my
camera batteries on these hawks and then found FOUR SHORT-EARED OWLS in one tree. RingNecked
Pheasants were running willy-nilly, obvious against the blank white
fields, evidently anxious to get enough food to get through the
night. 1/9/4Glenburg/Lockwood
Two bright
white SHORT-EARED OWLS were flying around with a darker SEOW in
bright sunlight, never landing for my fully-charged camera. In
Hillsdale County (the closest Michigan county), January 5th, Jack
Reinoehl reports 7 SHORT-EARED OWLS, seen along Tripp Rd, between
Prattville Road and Burt Road (mich-listers@envirolink.org), while
the nearest Indiana county (Allen) also reported them: " 2 SEOWs in
the field on the east side of CR63 in extreme southern DeKalb County
(one-half mile north of the Allen/DeKalb County line- DeLorme page
29, just north of A-11)." -- IN-BIRD-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU. A hen
Pheasant scratched nearby: 1/11 This morning I started out about 10am and
Glenburg/Lockwood rewarded me almost immediately
with EIGHT
EASTERN MEADOWLARKS. Even a daylight Short-Eared Owl.
Power
Dam Another
adult Bald Eagle sat here, watching the dozen RingBilled Gulls, the
six Mallard mixes (one is white with black wings!), and the eight
Canada Geese. A dozen Snow Buntings mixed with the
plentiful Larks at US24/Elliott Rd. Enroute home, at Rosebrock/SR18 were four hen Pheasants,
scratching a living out of the ice-covered snow. 1/12/4Fortunately, I checked the
e-mail that my server screened as spam: "Hello, I live by
Ayersville and a month or two ago there were 2 Bald
Eagles across from my house. I have 3 pictures that I took, they
aren't the best but you can tell they are eagles. One picture even
has the Ayersville water tower in the background. I thought maybe
this would be of interest to you. Thank you." --Carmen Stout
tstout@defnet.com. Yes indeed this is of interest to me! Thanks,
Carmen! After work the skies were already dark, leaving owling the
only promising birding activity: Three Short-Eared Owls on
Rosedale Road
off Jericho,
two Short-Eared Owls on Farmer-Mark Road off
Jericho, one
Short-Eared Owl on Fountain-Street Road off
Williams-Center-Cecil Road. 1/13/4 Tried several spots at heavily-hunted
Oxbow Lake,
but couldn't
get a Screech Owl-- just a VERY angry pair of Nuthatches. Walked the
pines looking for signs of owls unsuccessfully. On whim enroute home,
I got an immediate Screech Owl response from the farmhouse near the
bridge on Glenburg Road near State Route
15. 1/16/4
Too dark before
and after work of course for any surprises, but did catch a few
"binocu-cammed" shots of the ShortEared Owls and Pheasants at
Glenburg/Lockwood I also found a Bat that had
evidently fallen or been pulled out of hibernation. When I put it in
my bathouse here at home, out flew a Nuthatch! 1/18 US24/SR66 Cooper's Hawk flew as I fueled.
Birthday-family kind of day, so the extent of my birding was Crows,
Rock Pigeons and RedTailed Hawks along I-75 and a Carolina Wren in
Detroit! 1/19
Sherwood
200+ Buntings
at Vine/Coy, nearly in the corporation limits! 1/22 Sherwood At the spot where the Maumee
River kisses US 24 (a bit east of The Bend Road) were three more
adult Mute Swans with at least 100 Canada Goose (dangerous pull-off).
1/24Sherwood US 24/Emerald Road
6 Wild Turkeys
and a small group of Larks/Snow Buntings. 1/25 Sherwood Two Mute Swans and only about 50 Canada
Geese at the US
24/Bend river kiss. Snow Buntings on both ends of Sherwood,
at US
127/Sausman (about 250) and SR18 at Rosebrock (about 100). Hicksville My sister reports
4
ROBINS feeding
on berries at her Haver Drive home. Power Dam Hundreds of Canada Geese and Mallards
gathered on the decreasing amount of free water, as the water is not
coming over the dam. 1/28Power Dam Hundreds of Canada Geese and Mallards.
Bronson
frozen.
SR18/Rosebrock
4 Pheasants.
1/30
R18/Rosebrock 4 Pheasants. 1/31 Hicksville 8 ROBINS on Haver Drive MOCKINGBIRD at
Scott/Rosedale,
as always.
2/2/4
R66/Elliott A little too citified for 25 Snow
Buntings. 2/5/4
Pheasant
at
Rosebrock/SR18. 2/6/4 Stadium Drive/Carpenter A second juvenile Mute Swan put
down close to all the busy traffic going by (which didn't even
notice!) just a block behind the mall and K-mart! US127/Defiance-WilliamsCoLnRd
A Bald Eagle 10
miles North of Sherwood?!! They can be found every day 15 miles East
of Sherwood at the Dam, but this was spectacular enough to make the
front page of the Bryan Times (WilliamsCounty) yesterday:
2/8/4
SR18/Rosebrock 1 cock and 8 hen/juvenile
Pheasants.2/11/4
Maumee at US
24 near the Bend Road Only 2 Canada Geese. Maybe the swans
usually here moved to Power Dam. Power Dam The thaw has allowed for hundreds of
Canada Geese, Mallards (many mixed Mallards looking more like Rouen
than Mallard!), two Great Blue Herons, FOUR MUTE SWANS here too (one
Juvenile), with a single DRAKE RING-NECKED DUCK, a single MALE
REDHEAD, a single hen BUFFLEHEAD, a pair of PINTAIL DUCKS, a singing
Carolina Wren, a RedTailed Hawk and an Eagle.2/14/4 Power Dam Audrey G. started the day right
by showing us (Dean F, Jon D, Pat S and I) the fabled Eagle's nest
here-- and a juvenile Bald Eagle was there to greet us.
2/15/4
Power Dam
630 Canada
Geese, 62 Mallards (many of which were mixed heritage), 4 Mute Swans
(one of which was juvenal), and 2 Black Ducks. 2/17/4 SR18/Rosebrock One cock and 8 brown Pheasants.
US127/Buckskin
Cooper's Hawk
sitting calmly in a tree watching the traffic go by only a few feet
away. 2/18/4
Usuals plus six
Canvasbacks at Power Dam. 2/21/4 Power Dam water was so high, fast and furious there
were no birds at all. 2/23/4 Fran & Dave called to say that they
saw the Wild Turkeys at their usual SR15/Evansport Road area, but also another 100+ Wild
Turkeys at Evansport/Whisler.Independence Dam they said held only a half-dozen
gulls, and a SHORT-EARED OWL was at Jericho/Farmer Mark Rd. At their home in
Hicksville were
Robins and Cedar Waxwings eating the berries, with many Bluebirds.
2/22
The mule farm a
mile north of Florida eagle nest (no eagles present) hosted
hundreds of my first-of-the-season GRACKLES, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS and
COWBIRDS.2/24/4State Route 18/ Ashpacher Two ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS (light
phase) hunting in spite of the traffic. A few miles away, at
Glenburg/Lockwood were two DARK-PHASE ROUGH-LEGGED
HAWKS with a third light phase. 3/7/4 Power Dam had water roaring over it, so no birds at
all-- except for TWENTY-THREE WILD TURKEYS. I've never seen Turkeys
here before! 3/10/4 A pair of cock Pheasants held up traffic
at State Route
15 and Glenburg. new Penney Marsh empty. I haven't seen anything on the
Penney Marsh since its inception. 3/12/4 Power Dam water is low but no birds at
all, even following the Auglaize River all the way south to Junction
at 5-Span bridge. Sherwood had Pam A. reports four SHORT-EARED OWLS
on the DefiancePauldingCountyLineRoad at
GierRd/PauldingCoRd 123. 3/14/4 Lockwood/Glenburg a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK light-phase.
3/18/4
Power Dam
empty
3/20/4
SR66/US24
Meijer's Dean
F. reports Wild Turkeys even here! Lockwood/US 127 Cock Pheasant 3/21/4 18/Rosebrock Cock Pheasant Glenburg/Lockwood ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, a very nice adult male light phase, so
black and white he was almost polka dot! At 6:50pm there were an even
dozen Harriers cavorting and playing tag in a very entertaining
manner at FarmerMark/Jericho, while the 3 SHORT-EARED OWLS
stayed clear of the commotion. Fountain Street Road/WilliamsCenter-Cecil
Road Here were
19 Harriers (!), 3 of them adult males, not nearly as playful as the
others, and only 1 SHORT-EARED OWL, and a cock Pheasant.
3/27/4
Power Dam
Empty.
3/29/4
Penney Marsh
Drake Shoveler,
drake BlueWinged Teal, pair of Mallards. 4/4/4 Sherwood (SR18/US127) A flock of about 100 LAPLAND
LONGSPURS, inside the corporation limits! 4/5-7/4 Power Dam empty. 4/8/4 GlenburgRd/SR18 Very sadly, a Great Horned Owl was dead on
the road, next to a dead hen Pheasant, which seemed to tell the whole
story until nearby I saw a Skunk, purportedly the owl's favorite
food. It was bright-eyed and alert, but far too unwary to be okay.
Also at this weird group was the polka-dot ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, usually
a mile away at Glenburg/Lockwood.4/10/4 Enroute to join Fort Wayne
Audubon's field trip, a SHORT-EARED OWL flew in front of the car at
Jericho/Wonderly. 4/14/4 Glenburg/Lockwood
2 Harriers and
the RoughLegged Hawk still hanging on.4/16/4 Lockwood/US 127 A small flock of Lapland Longspurs.
4/17/4
Bands of
WhiteCrowned Sparrows at Rochester Cemetery 4/18/4 ElliottRd/SR281 Barbecue at a friend's house
found a Pine
Warbler in the
many pines at his home. 4/25/4 Jericho/Breininger A DARK-PHASE ROUGH LEGGED HAWK
seen by Bruce H. and me perched on a telephone wire. Beauteous!
5/3/4
Evansport
Don't those
Wild Turkeys know it's hunting season?! Big Tom strutting himself for
6 hens, RIGHT BESIDE THE ROAD! 5/5/4 Harriers tarry at Bend/Bradshaw and
Jericho/Lake/Clemmer. 5/8/4Glenburg/Lockwood We stopped by to see if the
BOBOLINKS
were back, and
they certainly were!5/9/4 Jericho/Rosedale almost hit a Bobolink with the
car 5/14/4
Jericho/WmsCtrCecilRd
skypond 1
Solitary Sandpiper, 2 Pectoral Sandpipers and a Brown Thrasher--
unlikely combo! 5/19/4 Hicksville Dave Martin reports Bobolinks in his
backyard, at SR18/CasebereMiller. 5/24/4 Power Dam a new eaglet at this new
nest! 6/3/4
Jericho/Breininger Spindler Cemetery I was distracted
by the constant crowing in the surrounding fields, and as I left a
hen pursued by a cock Pheasant flew the length of the entire field!
6/5/4 On Jericho near Lake
Rd was another colony of Purple Martins in gourds
6/27/4 FruitRidgeRd/SR18
A Mockingbird!.7/24/4Trinity/Lockwood
Hen pheasant creeps across the road, neck down, only
a few paces at a time. Good strategy for grassland hiding, but could
get her hit-- very comical! RedHeaded Woodpecker too. 8/13/4Baker/US 127
4 Wild Turkeys. 8/14/4 SR49/Jericho
A hunting Harrier reminds me I haven't seen them all
summer. 8/21/4 Flickinger/SR18
Another Great Horned Owl struck by a car, a female
Cowbird mysteriously dead beside it.8/22/4Riverside Cemetery in beautiful downtown Defiance
Dale B. reports 3 Great Egrets and 3 Bald Eagles at
this unlikely spot, while canoeing down the great Maumee River.
8/24/4 SR18/Ashpacher
Another Great Horned Owl dead, hanging from a
transformer, as another flies over the field...9/8/4
Slough/SR18 Harrier Scott/Bend
Cooper's Hawk 9/11/4 Defiance
CountyWalked Independence Dam
State Park with nothing noteworthy, but on US 24 just west of the
SR15/18 exit was a WHITE RED-TAILED HAWK!
9/12/4 Defiance CountyA different
trail at Independence Dam State but same results: no warblers.
Fortunately, still same results at US24/SR18 where I obtained
another 26 seconds of video of the WHITE RED-TAILED HAWK
in spite of furious semi traffic, even this early in
the morning. 10/16/4 Enroute home from the
Black Swamp Audubon's trip to Lovejoy's Rehab Center, 16 Wild Turkeys
crossed the road in front of me on US 127 at Mud Creek Road
10/29/4 SR15/Evansport
Cooper's Hawk Power Dam nothing
11/7/4Harriers (an
adult male and a juvenile) at PauldingCoLn/CoRd 45, and eight RUSTY
BLACKBIRDS at Jericho/CoRd 45. James H. reports 20 SNOW GEESE on SR
111 near the Paulding County Line.11/17/4 Lockwood/Glenburg TWO ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS
have returned to the area! Eight Wild Turkeys were at the very east
edge of Evansport close to the
road. 11/19/4 Lockwood/Evansport RUSTY BLACKBIRDS (about 2
dozen) mixed with Starlings and Killdeer in the field here. Under the
east "Welcome to Evansport" sign were four Wild
Turkeys again, right by the road. Lockwood/Glenburg
With the two RoughLegged Hawks were a Harrier and a
RedTailed Hawk today. 11/21/4
Power Dam The water was way too fast
for ducks. SR18/Rosebrock Scanned a huge blackbird
flock for rusties but found only Starlings and a handful of lingering
RedWinged Blackbirds. Another dead Great Horned Owl at
SR18/MudCreekRd.11/27/4Jericho/Wonderly 45 RingBilled Gulls are
in the field with a large mixed flock of Horned Larks and LAPLAND
LONGSPURS (my first of the year), and two Harriers (a male and a
non-male). 11/28/4 Stadium/Carpenter
5 Wild Turkeys behind K-mart/Defiance College, new
for me at this location.12/2/4 Behnfeldt/McCavit YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
(glad I stopped among all those deerhunters cruising the backroads in
their pickups).12/13/4Rosedale/Jericho Pheasants in this field.
Behnfeldt/Jericho A ShortEared Owl finally
appears. 12/21/4 Buckskin Rd at Mulligan's
Bluff What a way to start-- I stopped at the stop sign for
minutes watching a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK hunt here Power Dam
was totally frozen, as was most of the river. I
headed home, watching for short-eared owls unsuccessfully on
Powers Road. Slough/Rosebrock A Cooper's Hawk
springs from a branch along the road. How can a bird weighed in
ounces appear so powerful? 12/24/4 Enroute to Fort
Wayne for last minute gifts found 5 small flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS
between Sherwood and Hicksville on SR18-- 100 at SR18/Lake,
under 50 at SR18/Rosedale
and the others smaller. 12/25/4 Enroute to Mom's
for Christmas: Jericho/Wonderly 53 Snow Buntings in a
flock FarmerMark near Jericho TWENTY-FIVE PHEASANTS
feeding on the white field here Williams-Center-Cecil
Road/Fountain Street Road a group of five Pheasants.
12/26/4 Trinity/Lockwood
3 Hen Pheasants debate whether to cross in front of
my car or in front of 3 racing snowmobiles. They fortunately made the
right choice. 2/29/04 SR18/Ashpacher
Three Pheasants in the snow 12/30/4
Trinity/Lockwood 3 Hen Pheasants debate
whether to cross in front of my car or in front of 3 racing
snowmobiles. They fortunately made the right choice. BannerSchoolRd
between Stever and Evansport Rds 3 RingNecked
Pheasants.20031/4/3 Not far away
(Henry County Line between Flory Rd and
L1) were a flock of over 100 Snow Buntings! Enroute home
on US 24 north of Defiance at the Tiffin
River were four more Wild Turkeys. 1/5/3 Southside Defiance Found 2 Black Ducks with the
hundred or so Mallards at Bronson Park; a Great Blue Heron and
giant-grey-goose-with-an-orange-bill amidst the 1500 or so Canada
Geese at 66
South Bridge; Power Dam had 2 Great Blue Herons, 2 Ring Billed
Gulls, and lots of Mallards. 1/6/3 Defiance County a GREAT HORNED OWL swooped down
from a telephone pole about a half-mile east of Lockwood/Glenburg.
About a mile
away (Lockwood/Kleinhein) a SHORT-EARED OWL appeared! Then
(Lockwood/Mulligan's Bluff)
another GREAT
HORNED OWL swooped down from a telephone pole! I sometimes see them
at 18/Ashpacher (still reasonable, only a mile south and 4 miles
east), but never here. The time? Only 6:15pm! 1/10/3 Bronson Park in Defiance
had about 25
Canada Geese, about 25 Mallards and 2 Black Ducks still.
66S Bridge in
Defiance had
only about 10 Canadas with the two Chinese Geese. Power Dam about 100 Mallards.
SR111/DefianceCounty Line 100+ Canada Geese. Took Paulding
Co Ln Rd home but not a single owl or hawk. 1/15/3 Power Dam was similar, with lots of (over 1000)
Canada Geese and (over 100) Mallards, but little else, with the river
frozen all the way to Oakwood but flowing below the dam past
Bronson
Park.
1/21/3I was so disappointed Archbold Reservoir
was frozen over that I decided just to drive around looking for
longspurs. That mission was unsuccessful, but surprised myself
finding waterfowl when I thought all the water was frozen locally.
US 24 just
before Bend Road at least 20 Canada Geese, 20 Mallards, and
at least a pair of Black Ducks (dangerous viewing).1/22/3Christy Road at the
Williams/Defiance County Line had a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (probably the
same bird seen at 66/6 by Lach and John D, and again by Micki and
Doug Dunakin at Christy in Defiance Co), with a Kestrel, and 2 brown
Harriers (one with a juvenile orange belly) in the same spot.
Bronson Park
had 50 or so
Canadas, 25 or so Mallards, the loud Kingfisher and TEN ADULT MUTE
SWANS. Although I traveled Powers Road/Fountain St Rd/Jericho at the
right time, no harriers or short-eared owls --
puzzling. 1/23/3
Defiance's
Power Dam The
waterfalls frozen in time, there were 1000- Canada Geese, 100-
Mallards, 5 RingBilled Gulls, 5 Harriers (one adult male, one
orange-bellied juvenile) in the area, and a RINGNECKED
DRAKE.Defiance's
Bronson Park
Amidst the 100- Canada Geese, 50- Mallards, and few Black Ducks were
still the 10 adult Mute Swans from yesterday. Defiance's 66S
bridge Although
the river is frozen here, 150 Canada Geese were gathered in the
adjoining field, with more small groups arriving from surrounding
fields to gather for the night. 1/24/3 Mallards were up to 350 at Power Dam. 1/26/3Power Dam and Bronson Park
were just too
dangerous to try given the weather conditions and traffic. Did see
that the 10 Mute Swans were still there with the hundreds of Canadas
and Mallards and Black Ducks... 1/28/3 Leaving out the usual hundreds of Canada
Geese, Mallards and Black Ducks:Power Dam had its own Mute Swan and
orange-billed-knobbed Goose. Bronson Park still had its 10 Mute Swans plus
TWENTY-SIX GREAT BLUE HERONS in the adjoining cornfield! A Cooper's
Hawk was on Eastside Defiance at Hickory/Hopkins Streets.
2/14/3
Bronson Park ONE THIRD-YEAR BALD EAGLE sitting on the ice
(I have never
seen an eagle at this location before; evidently the adults chased
this bird from Independence, where I have seen it building the
nest!), 12 adult Mute Swans, 50 Mallards, 100 Canada Geese
Power
Dam 8 Great
Blue Herons, 8 Mallards, 53 Canada Geese. The water here is icing
over since the flow over the dam has reduced to a trickle.
Ashwood/242 ROUGH-LEGGED
HAWKS sitting on the twigs at the top of small trees, white
black-banded tail and all field marks clear and easily
visible.6 Harriers, a Kestrel, 6
Rock Doves, and 850 Starlings.2/16/3 Defiance County Bronson Park a Kingfisher,12 adult Mute
Swans, 50 Canada Geese Power DamTWO BALD EAGLES, one a
Third Year, the other a Second Year eating on the ice
1884
Starlings, 275 Mallards, 55 RingBilled Gulls, 53 Canada Geese, 14
Larks, 6 Black Ducks, 3 Commmon Mergansers, 2 REDHEAD DUCKS, 2
RedTailed Hawks, and a Crow. Ashwood/24 2 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS both
hovering over the fields, showing off the black wrists, black bellies
and white black-banded tails, all field marks clear and easily
visible.3 Harriers.
At 1pm, a herd of 15 deer
were ambling nonchalantly alongside the road at the
Bend/PauldingCoLnRd. 2/19/3 Brought a camera, so of course
the roughlegged hawks weren't at Ashwood Rd-- only 4 Harriers, 2 Kestrels, and a
RedTailed Hawk. 2/21/3 Power Dam was practically empty of everything.
Bronson Park
still had the
12 adult Mute Swans. 2/26/3 The piles of snow make viewing difficult
here as well as at Bronson Park and Power Dam: a dozen Mute Swans, 8
RingBilled Gulls, 2 Herring Gulls amidst the usuals. 2/28/3 The Mute Swans at
Bronson/Power
Dam made the
local paper (Defiance Crescent-News): 3/1/3 RingNecked Pheasant at US 127/NeyWmsCtr
Rd. 3/2/3
State Route
18/Ashpacher Road 22 MEADOWLARKS (my first of the year) in a field with 125
Canada Geese (6KT0 green band), 12 Crows (lucky to see 1 in Defiance
County all winter), 5 Rock Doves, a dozen or so hard-to-say-how-many
Larks, and a Starling. Power Dam 18 Redheads, 6 Mute Swans and 15
RIngBilled Gulls joined the usuals here. JIm Krall talked with me
here, saying that 200 of the Mallards usually here (and there were
still probably 200 here) were at his pond a mile away
(PowerDamRd/Wilhelm). It was also eye-opening to
realize that he raises Mute Swans and Rouens, and lets a few go wild
every year... <sad sigh>3/5/3 Stopped by Whetstone/US 24 to look for the roughlegged hawks, but
instead found 2 RedTailed Hawks copulating. It must be Spring!
3/6/3
Power Dam
almost nothing!
just a few Mallards and Canada Geese. Bronson Park impossible viewing. way too much traffic
and way too much piled snow. 3/8/3 We found a Cooper's Hawk at
SR424/HenryCoLn
and
/AdamsRidge. 3/10/3 Power Dam was so turbulent with water pouring
through the dam in torrents. Nevertheless 2 pairs of Mallards and 5
drake Common Mergansers tried to navigate it. Bronson Park No waterfowl except 21 Canada
Geese in the adjoining cornfield. Just too fast water.
3/11/3
The field at
SR18/Ashpacher
was full of
male RED-WINGED
BLACKBIRDS, singing MEADOWLARKS, and Canada
Geese. 3/14/3
Enroute home at
Ashpacher/Lockwood was another large blackbird
flock I coasted into: mostly RedWInged (didn't see a single female),
but a few Grackles, male Cowbirds, Starlings, and Rusty Blackbirds as
well. 3/16/3
The flooding of
the river at Delaware Bend forced the closing of the road there, so
I walked over to see what birds had taken advantage. On the east side
of the Bend Rd were 98 Canada Geese and a Wood Duck drake. On the
west side, 35 Canada Geese, 24 RIngNecked Geese, 2 pairs of
GreenWinged Teal, and a single Bufflehead. 3/18/3 Evansport had 50 of some nice birds: 50
Turkey Vultures
(first of the
year for me) most of which were roosting in the same huge tree, 50
Robins in a single flock, 50 Mallards, 50 Wood Ducks, 50 RingNecked
Ducks, 50 Canada Geese in the marsh near the 4-way stop.
3/19/3
The Bend
field on the
west side of road has drained; east side held 75+ RingNecked Ducks.
3/21/3
Defiance County Power Dam?
empty. So I decided to follow the Auglaize River
south to Paulding County via Power Dam Road. The very first cove (at
Parkview) there was my first
HORNED GREBE of the season, in Mardi
Gras transitional plumage. He was swimming with a drake Mallard, 2
Peking Ducks, and 4 blacker-that-Black-Ducks (we are talking totally
glossy!). The very next cove after that had 2 pairs of Bufflehead,
and 2 more pairs of Hooded Merganser. Right at the Defiance/Paulding County Line (Potter Cemetery)
were 350 ducks, mostly RingNecked Ducks, but a few
Scaup and Redheads sprinkled in. On the other side of the river,
headed north on SR111 at 5-Mile Creek
Access were about 10 pairs of RedBreasted Mergansers,
4 pairs of Hooded Mergansers, 3 pairs of Lesser
Scaup, 4 pairs of Redheads, 2 female Common Goldeneye, 4 unusual
Mallard mixes (one was white with a black back and black wings), and
lots of RingNecked Ducks (maybe 2 dozen) that kept appearing and
disappearing around the corner. A dark Eagle startled me as I passed
Power Dam itself. 3/22/3
Power Dam? empty. Followed the
Auglaize River south to Paulding County via Power Dam Road. Not much.
3/24/3
Evansport
nothing visible
4/6/3
SR281/SR424
no sandpipers
here either, just a few Mallards and Wood Ducks. Of course, it was
8pm before I had a chance to go check these spots...4/12/3 SR281/SR4242 PiedBilled Grebes, as well as a pair of
Mallards. 4 RingBilled Gulls at Defiance College, while atSR18/Rosebrock were a pair of RingNecked Pheasants alive,
as well as a dead hen.5/4/3Bobolinks
were back at Glenburg/Lockwood,
while I was suprised to find a cock Pheasant and a
Mockingbird at Glenburg/Buckskin.6/18/3Rosebrook/State
Route 18 More Dickcissels heard, again readily confirmed by a
tiny bit of tape.6/21/3Rosedale/Scott The perenial permanent Mockingbird
remains but... 6/22/3Birds seen while
enroute elsewhere (if heard and not seen played small bit of tape to
see) Rosebrock/StateRoute18 A pair of Pheasants in
early morning sun-- gorgeous. Lockwood/Bend
another pair of Pheasants Lockwood/Trinity
Grasshopper Sparrows Lockwood/Glenburg
Lotsa Bobolinks mile of Gier Road between
US 24 and PauldingCo Line At least 4 male
Dickcissels.6/23/3No time to bird, but took
time to confirm a DIckcissel on the south, and Grasshopper Sparrow on
the north side of Buckskin Road between
Glenburg and Trinity. 7/26/3StateRoute18/Rosebrock Rd I stop for a hen
RingNecked Pheasant to cross the highway, knowing the oncoming
speeding car is sure to hit her. Miraculously, the oncoming car
misses her and she returns to the grassy roadside and her TEN TINY
CHICKS!7/30/3 did see a RedHeaded Woodpecker at
Christy/Schultz. 8/16/3Jericho/Wonderly
Haven't
found myself going by here lately, but enroute elsewhere saw 3
Harriers today.9/18/3Jericho/Wonderly
The field has been mowed for the first time in years,
in preparation for the construction of the Cooper Megafarm. A Harrier
and a cock Pheasant were all that were apparent. 9/19/3SR 15/Huber
Cock Pheasant hit and still struggling on the yellow
highway line... 9/21/3 Hicksville (State Route 2
at the Indiana Line) A Harrier flies at Mom's
house.
9/24/3Eastside Defiance At the doctor's office,
low over the road, glided a second-year BALD EAGLE! 10/10/3
US 24 between SR 66 and SR 15 A Great Egret at
this usually vacant pond.10/20/3North of Scott
Rd on Bend Rd Group of 300+ blackbirds turned out to be 75%
Cowbirds, 20% RedWinged Blackbirds (zero adult males), 5% Starling
and a single beautiful winter-plumaged RUSTY BLACKBIRD. Other
blackbird flocks were nearly 100% Starling. 10/22/3Rosebrock/Buckskin Cock Pheasant flew in
front of the car enroute home. 10/29/3
Power Dam
a Mallard and 4
RingBilled Gulls. Male Harriers at Ashpacher/SR 18, and at EvansportRd/WmsCoLnRd 11/11/2003 Power Dam Just a Mallard and an
almost-black drake Mallard-mix11/19/2003 Krouse/PowersRd John Diller reports 6 or 7 juvenile
Harriers, and the first ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK of the season.11/21/3 Power Dam Nothing, no gulls, no geese, no ducks,
noherons nothing.12/2/2003Evansport/Banner School Road
A flock of Wild
Turkeys were roosting in the tall trees here this
morning.12/3/2003A drive down Fountain Street
Road and up
Jericho
Road finds no
short-eared owls yet. 12/4/3 Powers Road to US 127 I found still no short-eared
owls. 12/6/3
Large mixed
flocks of Lapland Longspurs, Snow Buntings and Horned Larks on either
side of the road west of Lockwood/Mulligan's Bluff,
and a male
Harrier at SR18/Rosebrock. 12/8/3Enroute home, though, about 5pm at
Glenburg/Lockwood were my first two
SHORT-EARED
OWLS of the
season. There was another (5:30 pm) at Fountain Street Road/WilliamsCenter-Cecil
Road. 12/12/2003 Cecil-Williams Center Road/Fountain Street
Road Still only
one SHORT-EARED OWL here, and none between work and home on SR34, US
6, CR D, CR C, Behnfeldt, Coy, US 127, Evansport Rd,
Defiance/PauldingCountyLineRoad, Jericho Road (the usual field for
these birds is mowed to prepare for yet another megafarm going up)
try as I might to find other SEOWs. 12/20/3 Jon also related that a SHORT-EARED OWL
showed up at Powers/Ashwood Road finally! 12/26/3 Rosedale/Jericho
is the fourth
Defiance County location with SHORT-EARED OWLS. 12/30/3 East side of FarmerMarkRd north
of Jericho Rd 2
SHORT-EARED OWLS 12/31/3 SR18/Kleinhen MOCKINGBIRD Elliott/Christy Cooper's Hawk2002 1/6/02 Woke up suddenly at 7:30 and
rushed out to Wonderly/Jericho in time to see a ShortEared Owl
still awake, and a Harrier just starting his day. Two miles down the
road (Jericho/Openlander) (p34 B3)was a mixed flock (200?) of Snow Buntings,
Horned Larks, and LAPLAND LONGSPURS. I watched them for some time
until the driver of the snow plow, on his second pass, decided to
stop and see if I was stuck. Also at this spot (very entertaining
spot) were 4 or 5 spotted mules fighting like stallions-- what a
sight! Wish I had brought my video camera. Kestrels on the wire were
normal, but the Cooper's Hawk that flew out of a line of pine wasn't
expected by me on Jericho. Then, a cock Pheasant walked out holding
himself very erect, jumping into the air ten or so feet, then landing
to walk a few more feet and jump again. Very unusual. At
Coy/Buckskin
were a half
dozen Bluebird, and at Trinity/Buckskin were 3 EASTERN MEADOWLARKS. While watching them, the usual
Harriers, Crows, Starlings, Red Tailed Hawk emerged. 1/10/02 Unbelievably 45 degrees outside!
Decided to drive around my hometown Sherwood area (p34 B3) with the dog and see what
would materialize. I expected to be totally bored with only an hour
before sunset, and there were the usual Bluebirds, Starlings,
HouseSparrows,MourningDoves,RockDoves. There were quite a few
Kestrels and RedTailed Hawks as expected, but only 1 Harrier at the
beginning (18/Openlander) until the very end when I found 11
Harriers all in the same field at Zeedyk's (halfway between Jericho and FountainStRd
on FarmerMarkRd). Those were the only Harriers I saw. Larks
at FtnStRd/FMarkRd. Ring-Necked Pheasants, both males, were seen at
Bend/Lockwood and Buckskin/FarmerMark 7 miles apart, and both 3miles
from the cock on 1/6. The best birds by far though, I found at 5:30pm
at a very unexpected location, my friend Jill's house, at
Openlander/FountainStreetRoad:
2
SHORT-EARED OWLS. I hurried over to their usual field at
Jericho/Wonderly (which is outside my block) and found one
SEOw, one Harrier, and one Kestrel there. Enroute home with darkness
coming on fast, at 5:48 one of the SEOwls flew directly in front of
my car giving me excellent viewing of this wonderful bird, only 1.1
miles from Sherwood corporation limits, and only 2.5 miles from home.
Explains why once I saw a SEOw on the ground at the corner of my
block. Not a boring drive at all! 1/11/02 Drove up Coy and down Behnfeldt tonight
near Sherwood.
(p34 B3) Pretty
much the usual: Kestrels/Harriers/RedTailed Hawks, Mourning
Doves/European Starlings/Blue Birds/AmericanTree & House
Sparrows, Canada Geese. 1/12/02Riverside Park as close as you can get to downtown
Defiance, had a sign showing Nature Funds. This park is big and green
and mowed, a football field, a ball diamond, 3 soccer fields, but the
river runs back of it. So I explored anyway and was pleasantly
surprised that so close to downtown would be Bluebirds, Carolina
Wren, Goldfinches, House Finches, Jays, Cardinals, RedBellied and
Downy Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, American Tree and House Sparrow,
Juncos, lots of Canada Geese and Great Blue Heron. Riverside Cemetery
had only Canada
Geese and a single Great Blue Heron. About to give up on a good
bird-of-the-day, while passing over the river on Harding Road , I slammed on the brakes when I
spied a male HOODED MERGANSER in the water below. I parked at
the bridge abutment and walked back over the bridge for better views,
and also spied a Kingfisher, lots of Canada Geese, and many Mallards
(the only ducks I saw all day). The bridge is very narrow and pretty
heavily travelled. I thought I was dead a couple times. The
magnificent view of the drake below was worth it though.
Power Dam
had only both
gulls. Flickers at the Boy Scout Camp Lakota. Lots of Canada Geese at the
SR 66 bridge at
Latty, but
being a high-traffic area, I didn't get out and look closely. Country
roads resulted in only a few Larks, Crows, Kestrels, Harriers,
RedTailed Hawk, European Starlings. 1/13/02 Today was Flicker Day, as 3 started the
day at Rosebrook/18, Schick/15, Gipe/Glenburg.
Also seen on
the drive, Crow, RedTailed Hawk, Kestrel, European Starlings,
Harriers, Eastern Bluebird, Mourning Dove, House & American Tree
Sparrows. Enroute back on Switzer Road Harrier, Crow, Tufted Titmice, Lark,
Cardinal. Enroute back home, at Flickinger/Lockwood were three more Flickers!
1/15/02
Took
Openlander Road
home from work
today and saw only a single grey Harrier, a single Bluebird, and two
Kestrels! Not even Larks! As I turned on to my street, the huge
resident Cooper's Hawk flew out of the big spruce on the corner,
intent on some House Sparrows. No one special at the feeders. Set out
early hoping for an early supper, but couldn't find the Short-Eared
Owls until 5:42pm, at FountainStRoad/CecilWmsCtrRoad, which is unfortunately closed
for construction, so I had to admire the pair from afar. The usual
Short-Eared Owl field (Jericho/FarmerMarkRoad) had a disabled car in front of
it, hazard lights blinking. I allowed the young man to use my
cellular phone to call for help and asked if he had seen the owls
yet. He replied that he had not but often sees them on the way home
from work. At that moment only a single Harrier was hovering over the
field. Upon leaving however, I realized that a pair of ShortEared
Owls and about a dozen Harriers were in the field "catty-corner" to
their regular field, ie in the NE corner, instead of the SW. Even in
the near darkness, one could see Larks and deer feeding at the edge
of the road there. Sherwood Lagoons had Canada Geese, but I couldn't
raise any owls with my calling tape. 1/17/02 Domersville Rd home was all I could muster with plans
not allowing any real birding-- just a Kestrel, a single Crow, and a
small flock of House Finches... 1/20/02 Had decided to do Oxbow Lake but the number of hunters and
wearing hunter orange gave me a bad feeling about it, so instead I
drove around a bit. Added to the Sherwood list: Crow, European
Starling, Lark, Kestrel, RingNecked Pheasant (Lockwood/Glenburg), Oxbow List: Rock Dove, Lark,
Kestrel, European Starling, Crow, RedTailed Hawk, Then drove some of
the backroads I have missed so far this month. Harriers were sparse
(I only saw two), since I drove the north secton, but at
McCavit
east of
Openlander
was a large
flock (100?) of mixed LAPLAND LONGSPURS and Larks, about 50/50 mix.
Then at WilliamsCenterCecilRoad just north of StateRoute 18 was
another flock of 100 LAPLAND LONGSPURS, in which I could find only
one Horned Lark. Enroute to Hicksville for a birthday party, I passed
FountainStRd/WmsCtrCecilRd
intersection at
5:52 without seeing Short Eared Owls. I passed their usual field at
Jericho/Wonderly
and saw none.
But at Jericho/Rosedale a ShortEared Owl nearly flew
into the side of my car 1/26/02 A walk around Sherwood-- Canada Geese, Bluebirds, RedHeaded
Woodpeckers etc etc and three deer, left dead and complete except for
their sawed-off antlers (sigh). No turkeys could I find in spite of
two broods of 16 each I know about from this summer. Followed the
river to all the bridges: SR281/424 and Clinton
Street had only
RingBilled and Herring Gulls. SR66/Latty St had Canada Geese as far as the eye could
see, hundreds, but nothing else at all. Power Dam and Harding Road bridge:
zero, not even
gulls! US24/Baltimore Rd zilch. The Bend Bridge: zero US127/Sherwood South: zilch, not even the turkeys!
Nothing new at the feeders, the brown creeper, cooper's hawk and
carolina wren and both white-* sparrows absent, both RedHeaded
Woodpeckers feeding heavily in spite of the warm weather. 58 degrees?
1/28/02
ShortEared Owls continue on all corners of the
Jericho/Farmer
Mark Road intersection, snappily flying in front of the car at
odd moments, but I could find none on Fountain Street Road.
1/30/02
Brought
Christy Road
home hoping to
see the 2 meadowlarks that Pam reported last night, but no such luck.
Oxbow Lake
was totally
thawed but relatively birdless with only a pair of Canada Geese.
2/17/02
For the Great
Backyard Bird Count, Pam and I toured the Power Dam area and found 32 RingBilled Gulls, 19 Canada
Geese, 11 Mourning Doves, 10 Mallards, 4 Crows, 3 RedTailed Hawks, a
Harrier, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 1 Yellow-Shafted Flicker, 1 RedBellied
Woodpecker and best of all 14 Common Mergansers, all male.
2/27/02
A Cooper's Hawk
at US 24/SR
66 is
especially good viewing. 3/2/02 Enroute home from my little niece April's
last cheerleading competition (she turns 18 already on the 8th!),
about 6:15pm, it was easy to see four Short-Eared Owls at their usual field
(Jericho/FarmerMarkRd), but another was unexpected two
miles west at Jericho/Rosedale Road. Fountain Street
Road had 8
Turkey Vultures (the first I've seen this year) in the same
tree.3/4/2Enroute home there was a SHORT-EARED OWL
at Lockwood/Kleinhein, searching the fields with a
brown Harrier. I have never seen one at this location before!
3/13/02 Joe came over this way and watched 4-5
Short-Eared Owls hunt at their usual haunt, the Jericho/Wonderly field. 3/16/02The Tiffin RIver bridge just
west of Defiance
on State Route 18 had 3 geese swimming with a pair of
Mallards. I pass this spot nearly every day and almost never see
waterfowl of any kind here, so I tried to pull over on this busy spot
and scope the birds, but no pullover spot was satisfactory. They
looked like GreaterWhiteFronted Geese, but I never got a really
really good fix and didn't want to walk in the neighbors' yards to
get a good look. Besides, time was a'wastin'! 3/19/02 Joe had checked out the geese at
SR18 west of Defiance and took pics: not GreaterWhiteFronted,
just Greylag escapes. 3/20/2 Power Dam only 7 RingBilled Gulls and 7 Great Blue
Herons. 3/31/02Power Dam had 3 female Hooded Mergansers.
The Bend Road, a
half-mile east of the Mulligan's Bluff intersection had a cock RingNecked Pheasant
roosting in a tree some eight feet off the ground, dazzling in the
bright sunlight. At Jericho/Rosedale was another Pheasant basking in
today's sunshine. 4/1/02 Enroute home from work, another cock
Pheasant in full display at Lockwood/Mulligan's Bluff.
Evansport had
10 BlueWinged Teal and a couple pairs of Canada Geese.
4/2/02
Back in
Defiance County
enroute home at
3:45pm were five Wild Turkeys in another field, at EvansportRd/Stever Rd.
Just north of
Evansport was a pair of BlueWinged Teal and Canada Geese in the
field-turned-into-marsh there. 4/4/2SR281/SR424 flooded field did have a pair of
BlueWinged Teal, 2 pairs of Canada Geese, and a RingBilled Gull,
though. Evansport's swampy field also had a pair of BlueWinged
Teal and two pairs of Canada Geese, too. A RingNecked Pheasant
rooster was inches away from a pair of Turkey Vultures dining on a
roadkilled tiger cat at Lockwood/Mulligan's Bluff Road.
A check of the
Wonderly/Jericho
fields found no
short-eared owls, but there were 6 deer and a Pheasant HEN!
4/5/2
Where there had
been none, suddenly today at Evansport were Tree Swallows. Just off
US 24 on the
Bend Road at
the Maumee River was a tree with FORTY-SIX Turkey Vultures in
it.4/11/02
Surprised by 75
Pectoral Sandpipers in a flooded field, enroute home from work
tonight about 7:30pm at SR66/Kammeyer in Defiance
County. The
cock Pheasant was looking particularly regal at Lockwood/Mulligan's Bluff.
4/15/2
There were 4
Greater and 12 Lesser Yellowlegs at Evansport. 4/15/02 Although my heart was in Fulton County, I
decided to be loyal and bird Defiance County: Oxbow Lake, Independence Dam and
Power Dam were
all relatively birdless. 4/19/02 Checking the Evansport flooded field, I saw a loose flock of 115
Sandpipers, including both Yellowlegs and Pectorals (the Defiance
County side of the WilliamsCoLineRd). 4/20/2 There was a wet cock Pheasant at
Buckskin/Glenburg. 4.24.2Evansport's flooded field was also deserted, except for a
pair of Mallards, two Great Blue Herons and 10 Turkey Vultures
abusing the corpse of a fox or small dog. 4/26/02 Enroute to work this morning, a Tom Turkey
ran alongside the car near Evansport/Shick, two Wood Ducks flew inexplicably
into an ex-cornfield, and at the Evansport marshy field was an oxymoron: a group of 3
Solitary
Sandpipers, my
first of the season.Enroute home, at Glenburg/Lockwood was a cock Pheasant in full
regalia right on the road at the corner! Lockwood/Mulligan's Bluff had a cock Pheasant, and 3 HEN
Pheasants. Lockwood/Bend had 7 Turkey Vultures all crowded onto the
same small evidently-warm rock. 4/29/02 Solitary Sandpiper at Evansport's flooded field
4/30/2Evansport's flooded field supported a Solitary
Sandpiper.5/14/02 There were a pair of RedHeaded Woodpeckers
at Lockwood/Ashpacher. 5/15/02 Weird birds of the day however,
were enroute to work at SR15/SR18 at the storage center Stop & Drop where four Cormorants stopped
and dropped into the pond behind the center, I kid you
not.. 5/20/02
Enroute to see
the doctor for my back saw ANOTHER MOCKINGBIRD at Flickinger/State Route
18! 5/24/02
Enroute home it
was reassuring to find lots of Bobolinks at Glenburg/Lockwood. A lone Spotted Sandpiper at the
Evansport
flooded field.
5/27/02
Stopping at
Wonderly/Jericho, the best I could do was
Savannah
Sparrows.
6/19/02
RingNecked
Pheasant cock at Christy/BannerSchoolRd. 6/27/02 Enroute home from work, a stag
in velvet by the side of the road at BannerSchool/Evansport in Defiance
County.
6/30/02 Random
stop at State
Route 18/ Rosebrock Road: Meadowlarks, Dickcissels, Grasshopper
and Song Sparrows, all seen and heard.8/12/2 Two not-adult-male RingNecked Pheasants
less than a mile from home shocked me enroute home from work
(Coy/SR18).8/14/2 For the first time in a long time (since
the local volunteer fire department cut the dead trees out of the
woods for fundraising!), a Screech Owl's trill awakened me this
morning, here in Sherwood. 8/15/2 Enroute to work, at SR18/Ashpacher was a GREAT HORNED OWL sitting
on a TELEPHONE WIRE-- great start to the day, silhouetted against the
morning sky.8/26/2 Enroute home, I checked
Scott/Rosedale
Road in Defiance County was a JUVENILE MOCKINGBIRD, begging from
an adult. Last year at this same spot, I found a pair of juveniles
with an adult. 9/5/2 Couldn't help but notice enroute home
myself that at Jericho/Wonderly was a Harrier-- not as many as
usual stuck around this summer. 9/6/2 Enroute home, at SR111/Hammersmith Road were 27 American Golden Plovers,
and 63 Turkey Vultures.9/7/2 No birding since my sister brought the
baby home, but couldn't help noticing the Great Horned Owl at
SR18/Ashpacher
hasn't caught
West Nile and died <grin>.9/9/2 Power Dam had only a Great Egret and 2 RingBilled
Gulls.10/21/2Defiance County Dad told me about a place he
used to hunt when I was a kid (Arrowsmith/Meuse Argonne) which I absolutely do not
remember a thing about, so I visited it tonight. Extremely gorgeous
place (unlike 16/C) but not a single living thing visible! Looks like
it'd be perfect for wildlife, but no shorebirds or waterfowl. Enroute
home, Harriers were everywhere, with 4 at Jericho/Wonderly, 2 juvenal Harriers at
WillliamsCenterCecilRd/Fountain
St, and another
juvenile at 18/Openlander.11/13/2 Power Dam only 150 Gulls, but similar
proportions to Independence; 3 very shy Canada Geese.11/28/2 Enroute home from Thanksgiving,
found no short-eared owls at the usual field (Wonderly/Jericho),
although the
time was perfect (5:45pm).12/7/2 IJericho/Breininger RingNecked Pheasants brighten
the day.12/8/2
Enroute home,
there was a Harrier at Lockwood/Glenburg, a group of TEN RingNecked
Pheasants (half hens) at Lockwood/Flickinger, a tiny SharpShinned Hawk at
Lockwood/Bend, and another at Lockwood/Rosebrook. 12/14/2 Enroute home (5pm) found
FOURTEEN Harriers, 2 RedTailed Hawks and a Kestrel in one mile of
Ashwood between Powers and US 24. As Bruce and I drove past Jericho/Breininger (5:30pm)
headed to Fort
Wayne, we were startled by our first two ShortEared Owls of the season.12/27/2 Glenburg/Lockwooda SHORT-EARED
OWL
was fun to watch as it flew, caught something, and landed fairly
nearby. SR18/Rosebrock a cock Pheasant and 3 hens.
Independence/Elliott
Rds 2
cock Pheasants directly beside the stop sign. 12/29/2 Took a quick trip out to the
usual short-eared field (Jericho/Wonderly), but no owls at 5:15 (only 2
Harriers), none at 5:30, none at 5:45, when suddenly one SHORT-EARED
OWL sprang up near the road at 5:46. I didn't wait around too long to
see how many would be there since I'm a news junkie, and a steak
supper was being prepared for me at home!200101/01/01 Power Dam had a single Canada Goose, and
about 30 Gulls (RingBilled/Herring). 1/3/01 A cock Pheasant was at Lockwood/Kleinhein
while enroute home. I checked the short-eared owl spot on Jericho
Road, but still saw none. I haven't seen them since Christmas Eve.
The deep snow is evidently too much for them, as well as the larks,
longspurs, harriers and buntings, none of which I have seen locally
for quite some time.1/21/2001 The Grackles continue at Pam Adam's
Feeders, especially her inside window feeder! 1/6/2001 Saw the first Defiance County
larks (only 2) on Behnfeldt near Buckskin Rd.1/8/2001. Kettenring Golf Course had a SharpShinned Hawk flying
in short bursts from tree to tree.1/10/2001 Took the long way home from work and saw 3
cock Pheasants at Lockwood/Bend Rd, and 3 Bluebirds at
249/WmsCtrNeyRd. 1/11/2001 Archbold's Cooper's Hawk was seen at Sr 2 and CoRd 25
today, while I saw another fly out from a Spruce at Defiance Hospital on Second
Street. 1/12/01
Enroute home, 4
Larks flew up at Elliott/HenryCoLnRd. Very few this year so far. I
drove the PauldingCoLnRd home about dusk, but still no short-eared
owls.1/14/2001 At Rosedale/FountainStRd were 3
male Pheasants and about 15 Larks. The snow is melting away in the
rain-- hooray, if you're a lark.1/15/2001 50 Canadas at Buckskin & 2 in a field
far from water. RoughLegged Hawk at Krouse/24.1/16/2001 25 Canadas in field outside of
EvansportOH.
1/17/2001 RoughLegged Hawk at
Flickinger/Lockwood. 1/18/2001 3 more Larks at Lockwood/Behnfeldt.
1/19/2001
A
Screech Owl
(grey phase)
was sitting by the side of Stever Rd, near Kammeyer Rd. I got out of
the car and took video; he turned his head but did not fly away. I
couldn't see any signs of injury, so left him alone on the
snow.1/21/2001 At the "Short-Eared field" at
Jericho/Wonderly Roads were no ShortEars, but 2 Harriers, a
RoughLegged Hawk, and the first Snow Buntings I've seen this year
(small group of seven). 1/22/2001 First Short-Eared Owl
of the New
Year, at Trinity/Beerbower, with a RoughLegged Hawk. 1/23/01 20 Larks at Bishop/Moser. 20
Larks at Bishop/Moser. 1/24/01 The Horned Larks, Harriers, and Buntings
are definitely back in the county now that the snow has receded. At
the PauldingCoLnRd/ Breininger Rd intersection was a male Harrier,
and from Breininger to SR 49 were at least 75 Horned Larks. At the
opposite end of the county, Egler/Overly, were 25 Larks, so I think
I'll go back to my old habit of taking them for granted. : ) . About
150 Snow Buntings were at Freytag/Coressel, all in one big flock with
only a single Horned Lark that stood out like a sore
thumb.1/25/01
Power Dam
had 100
Canadas, 100 Mallards, 50 Common Mergansers (roughly), and 2 Black
Ducks. Riverside
Cemetery had a
RoughLegged and a RedTailed Hawk terrorizing the pines, so only the
regular Red- and White-Breasted Nuthatches, the House Finches, and
the Downy Woodpeckers could be found. There was another RoughLegged
Hawk on PauldingCoLineRd at Emerald Rd.1/28/01 At State Route 18 and Behnfeldt were 2
male Pheasants. At Jericho/Wonderly were no ShortEared Owls, but a
Harrier, RoughLegged Hawk, and a RedTailed Hawk. 1/30/01Power Dam had only Common
Mergansers.2/5/01 Riverside Cemetery had 20 Canada Geese, 20 Juncos,
and 30 Cedar Waxwings. Power Dam was also flowing fast with 300 Canada
Geese, and Common Mergansers, Common Goldeneye, Redheads, and
Canvasback moving and diving so quickly it was impossible to count
them. 2/6/01
Brown Harrier
at Lockwood/Glenburg.2/7/01 Bostater at Trinity Rd had 50 Canada Geese
in this unlikely location. Russell at Evansport Rd had RoughLegged
Hawk. 2/8/01
6 Grackles at
Jericho/WilliamsCenterCecil Rd. At Jericho/Wonderly Rds there were no
ShortEared Owls, but I counted 12 Harriers, at 5:50pm. It may have
been too early for the owls, but i've seen them there earlier...
2/10/01
Power
Dam was flowing
far too furiously for there to be waterfowl present, but behind the
dam, at PowerDam/PauldingCoLn Rd were about 10 Common Mergansers.
Pam Adams
reported
Mockingbird, Cowbirds, and the Common Grackle is still showing
up. 2/17/01
Power Dam
had only about
25 Common Mergansers. Harriers were present at EmeraldRd/US24, US
127/SR 15, Beerbower/Trinity, Ashwood/PauldingCoLineRd (all males),
and 3 at SR 15/Watson Rd (1 of which was male). No short-eared owls
yet at Jericho/Wonderly.2/19/01 Enroute home at SR 15 just south of
Defiance OH was the first TURKEY VULTURE of the season! 2/20/01 At Trinity/SR 15 was my first RedWinged Blackbird male, singing on a wire, posing
for me as i binoculed him. 2/20/01Power Dam (30 Mallards, 30 Common Mergansers, 30
Canada Geese), but the first Wood Duck pair were at SR 281/SR424. Many flocks of
RedWinged Blackbirds, but the best flock was at Harding/PowerDamRd
where the setting sun lit the scarlet epaulets perfectly as the flock
wheeled and landed and rose again and relit. 2/22/01 Glenburg Road between Lockwood and
Buckskin Roads
had 4 RoughLegged Hawks, 2 Male Grey Harriers, 2 Brown Harriers, a
RedTailed Hawk, and a Kestrel, all within one mile! At SR
18/RosebrockRd a SharpShinned flew across the road.2/25/01 Flickinger/Buckskin, a RoughLegged Hawk.
Flickinger/SR18 a male Harrier. 2/26/01 Denny S. reported 2 Snow Geese in a group
of Canadas at WmsCoRd C at the flooded creek bridge. Maybe it's the
same pair I saw at Oxbow Lake earlierin the week. Pam reports her
Grackle is no longer feeding at her feeder. 2/27/01Glenburg/WmsCoLnRd 2 Harriers, one of each color,
1 RedTailed Hawk, 1 SharpShinned Hawk! 3/4/01 Sherwood a huge flock of Ring-Billed and Herring
Gulls are in the field behind the house! With a single cock Pheasant!
Enroute to Defiance shopping are 2 Cooper's Hawks and a Sharpie.
3/6/01
Enroute to Fort
Wayne, we saw several ShortEared Owls with the Harriers at
Jericho/Wonderly. I wasn't driving, so I couldn't count them (I never
go past that field at 55mph! <grin>). On the other side of the
road was a single cock Pheasant.3/7/01 Independence Dam and Power Dam
had only Canada
Geese, but Riverside Cemetery in downtown Defiance
had at least 20
Turkey Vultures taking refuge from the bitter winter weather in the
Norway Spruces there!! 3/8/01 Two Mallard pair were on the Tiffin River
at Evansport Rd while Oxbow Lake itself had 2 RedTailed Hawks and a
Canada Goose. 3/13/01 Riverside Cemetery in Defiance OH
had 42 Turkey
Vultures, at least. I hurriedly counted as I drove slowly by the
spruces, hoping not to spook them. 3/13/01 Power Dam had 5 RingBilled Gulls with 4 pairs of
Canadas.3/16/01
At least 50
Turkey Vultures floated silently through the spruces and hemlocks low
overhead at Riverside Cemetery, evidently disturbed by a jogger.
Power Dam
had 12 Canada
Geese and 7 Great Blue Heron. 3/20/01 281/424 had a single pair of Northern Shovelers
swimming inexplicably very near to the racing traffic. 3/30/01 Fantastic views of 3 Short-Eared
Owls at their usual field at Jericho/Wonderly, amazingly close to the
road.3/29/01At Glenburg/Lockwood was a male Harrier and the only
RoughLegged Hawk I've seen this month, even at Killdeer
Plains.
4/3/01Riverside Cemetery now has over 200 Turkey
Vultures taking refuge in its spruces. Power Dam had a Cooper's Hawk, a pair of Mallards,
6 Great Blue Heron, lots of Tree Sparrows (first I've seen this season), and lots of
Canada Geese. 4/9/01Power Dam was even worse--nothing. 4/13/01 The Sandpipers are still at
Behnfeldt/WmsCoRd A in similar
numbers. 4/12/01
I could not
believe finding 100 Pectoral Sandpipers, 25 Greater Yellowlegs, 10
Lesser Yellowlegs in Defiance County in a flooded field at Behnfeldt/WmsCoRd
A. 4/11/01
And two cock
Pheasants at Lockwood/Mulligan's
Bluff.
4/4/01 Glenburg/Lockwood had RoughLegged Hawk, Kestrel,
2 Harriers, 3 Turkey Vultures. 4/24/01 It's the best time of year, and
unfortunately I'm too busy to enjoy it. Tonight I had to have the
car's brakes fixed, so I took a walk in the part of the woods they
forgot to knock down when they built Super-K and Lowe's near the Mall
in Defiance.
Although you
could still hear the cars whiz by on Clinton, US 24, and that other
busy street, I was amazed by the number of deer (and how close they
allowed me to approach!), as well as the large number of birds. 99%
were Grackles, Robins, Blue Jays, Flickers and Cardinals, all in
large numbers, but there were also Swamp, Field and Song Sparrows,
RubyCrowned Kinglets, 2 Brown Thrashers, a Hermit Thrush, a RedTailed
Hawk, a Killdeer, a RedBellied Woodpecker, RedWinged Blackbirds,a
Phoebe and my first-of-the-season BlackThroated Green Warblers
(a male and a
female). I also shocked myself by coming upon a group of Pectoral
Sandpipers, about 75! Oh, and an Anglewing and today's color was
blue: Sage, Violets and Phlox in bloom. 4/26/01 At 127/Jericho were about 25 Golden Plovers.
5/4/01Cock Pheasants were at Mulligan'sBluff/Lockwood, and SR18/Rosebrock Rd. 5/5/01Defiance Mall Pond
--Great
Egret! 6/4/2001
Monday. Enroute
home, I stopped and a stop sign at Glenburg/Lockwood and heard the familiar sound
of-- BOBOLINKS in Defiance County! 6/22/2001 Instead of speeding home in my usual
fashion, I stopped at Huber/FarmerMark, turned off the car and
listened. Filtering out the Bluebirds, Eastern Meadowlarks, RedWinged
Blackbirds et al, I soon was aware of GRASSHOPPER SPARROW sounds, and soon they were
sitting on the telephone wire, walking on the road, and running in
the corn, hiding behind the individual stalks. The next mile I
stopped again (at Huber/WmsCtrCecil) and did the same. A
SAVANNAH SPARROW
hopped up on
the telephone wire! The next mile (Huber/Openlander)-- Dickcissels! I
don't frequent this area of Defiance County at all, so I was very
surprised...
6/29/2001 Dickcissels at State Route 18/ Coy
Road.7/7/2001 Enroute to Wolf Lake IN, I was
surprised to find only five miles from home, here in Defiance County at
Jericho/Wonderly Rds a ShortEared Owl, at 5:30am. This same
field often has 8 or 10 short-eared owls in the wintertime, but I
don't think I've ever seen them here in the summer:These are snappy's from a video camera I
happened to have with me. The bird was always between a quarter to a
half-mile away, so quality is low. I only saw one bird, and that
night at 10pm it was really too dark to see. Dickcissels and
Bobolinks were plentiful in the field, as they are throughout the
area this year-- a dickcissel was just above me on a telephone wire,
singing the whole time: Also enroute, just outside Hicksville, Defiance County Ohio
at the Indiana Line on SR 18 were a pair of Mockingbirds or Shrikes
(the traffic would not allow me to stop, although I turned around
several times trying to gain enough time to look more
closely).
7/8/2001 Stopped back at the Jericho/Wonderly
Rd field about
9:30pm and again saw only one ShortEared Owl, even farther away. This
time, the owl was circling fairly high in the sky, barking like a
dog. "Typical call heard in breeding season is a raspy, high
barking," according to the Nat'l Geo Field Guide. Peterjohn says,
"Sightings after April 20-28 may pertain to summer residents...have
always been accidental to casual and very sporadic summer residents,
averaging 3 to 6 sightings each decade since the 1920s. Many summer
records are sightings of single owls whose breeding status is
unknown. Confirmed nesting reports are exceptionally rare, usually at
or near sites where they congregated during the previous winter.
Before 1940, nesting Short-eared Owls were reported from
Paulding...and Van Wert Counties...After 1960, breeding Short-eareds
were only confirmed in Lucas, Wyandot and Pickaway Counties...young
owls normally fledge in June and early July" The Paulding/Defiance
County Line is only a mile south:7/10/2001 The Short-Eared Owl(s) continue/s at
Jericho/Wonderly
but is/are
hunting very close to the road in the mowed grass. I nearly hit one
tonight, so I should probably lie low awhile. Hard to tell if there's
one or more than one, since he/they appear/s from out of nowhere--
perhaps it/they is/are skimming the ditch and then rising
suddenly.
7/29/2001
ShortEared Owl continues at Jericho/Wonderly. 8/6/2001A male Harrier at
Glenburg/Buckskin Rd 8/17/2001The ShortEared Owl at
Jericho/Wonderly
has been
joined by a pair of Harriers. RedHeaded Woodpeckers have been
everywhere--SR
34/WmsCoRd 25, at home in Sherwood, Kleinhein/Lockwood, the Jail
even has a pair
and 3 juveniles...8/19/2001Pam and I did Little Sit's at her
Paulding/DefianceCoLineRd farm
with windy
almost-raining weather: 10:10 to 11:10 under the Big Cottonwood
equidistant from the house, and 2 barns. 13 birds: American
Goldfinch, American Robin, Barn Swallow, Blue Jay,Cedar Waxwing,
Eastern Bluebird, English Sparrow, European Starling, Gray Catbird,
House Finsh, Indigo Bunting, Mourning Dove, Turkey Vulture
Butterflies: Cabbage White In Bloom: Canada Thistle, Chicory, Common
& Giant Ragweed, Queen Anne's Lace, Smartweed, SpringLeaved
SowThistle, Purple & White Teasel, White Clover, 11:40-12:40 At
the NW corner of the woods, AmGo, BaSw, Chimney Swift, Eastern
Kingbird, Field Sparrow, InBu, RedHeaded Woodpecker, Song Sparrow,
TreeSwallow, TuVu, YellowShafted Flicker. Butterflies: Cabbage White,
Crescent, Monarch, Painted Lady, Tailed Blue, Wood Nymph In Bloom:
Bird'sFoot Trefoil, CaTh, Giant Ragweed, QALa, RedClover, SelfHeal,
P/WTe, WhCl, White Sweet Clover, Wild Lettuce9/24/2001 Two Harriers plied the field at
Jericho/Wonderly, but alas, no short-eared owl.
9/27/2001
A pair of hen
Pheasants flew high across the road at Kammeyer/Evansport Rd in front of my car enroute home
from work.10/8/2001 Best bird of the day was an Osprey flying
low over US24/SR18 overpass at Defiance.
10/17/2001Nothing at all at Sherwood Lagoons.
10/28/2001Got a 21-Goose salute at Sherwood Reservoir.
Enroute to
Defiance, I somehow got my friend Bruce to stop the car and pull over
in spite of the traffic-- in a flooded field pool at Glenburg/State Route
18 were perhaps
30 AMERICAN PIPITS! 11/1/2001 Paused to let a stag walk regally across
the road, like a schoolgirl with a book balanced on her head, on
Mulligan's Bluff
Road at Williams County Line. There on the side of the road were 30
Pipits!11/20/2001 Power Dam had a dozen RingBilled Gulls and a Great
Blue Heron.11/22/2001 At my sister's house for Thanksgiving in
Hicksville Ohio
and her feeders
had a Purple Finch and a Carolina Wren. 11/28/2001 Continued last night's
rush-between-work-and-darkness tonight: Defiance Power Dam had only a Great Blue Heron, a
RingBilled Gull and 2 dozen Canada Geese. 12/4/2001 Power Dam had 4 pure white Muscovy Ducks with 8
Canada Geese. 12/11/2001Sherwood Lagoons had 16 Canada Geese. Pretty darn
boring birding, until the tour left me just at bewitching time at the
usual haunt at
Jericho/Wonderly Road, my first of the year, four SHORT-EARED OWLS. 2/13/2001
Joe H and I put
the Harriers (maybe 10 of them) to bed at Jericho/Wonderly, rushed over to the New Marsh
(61/179) only
to see about 200 Mallards and a few small flocks of SnowBuntings and
Horned Larks, and then rush back to see 2 ShortEared Owls that
finally woke up before it got too dark. Only 1 RedTailed Hawk and
none of the usual kestrels were there. 12/21/2001 "While at work today in Defiance Ohio, my partner and I were walking
up to the main greenhouse with our arms full of Gerbera daisies when
five MUTE
SWANS flew
over....nice break! Happy Holidays, P.J.Adams"12/23/2001 7 Sandhill Cranes were in the field immediately north of US
127 and Lockwood Road (1 mile north of Sherwood OH) at 9am, and still there at
11:30am.12/26/2001 Joe Hildreth reports seeing two
ShortEared Owls, one very close to the road, at Jericho/Wonderly in Defiance
County, enroute
home from seeing the black-throated gray warbler in
CentrevilleMI.12/30/2001
Went back with
video camera to get footage of yesterday's RoughLegged Hawk, but it
was gone. Also tried to get footage of the falcon that flew up into
the missing soffit of the house on Bowman Road, but flunked out there also.20001/2/2000:11 Kestrels
(nope, none were merlin); 9 Harriers (nope, none were short-eared
owls); 9 Red Tailed Hawks (nope, none were rough-legged); 2 Bald
Eagles (nope, none were golden); 1 Cooper's Hawk;5 crows, 1 horned
lark, 16 mallards, 1 red-winged blackbird, 1 ring-necked pheasant,
and hundreds of (presumably) ring-billed gulls. Not bad for 55 mph.
1/4/00: Cooper's hawk at
Northtowne Mall?!! Saw one fly from
Office Max to Friendly's Ice Cream, over Beckman's used car lot, into
K-mart! 1/5/00: 1 mile from the
mall (State Route 66 at
Breckler Rd) were 2 harriers and 2 sharp-shinned hawks (which I
haven't seen for quite some time!). 1/24/00 6 EASTERN MEADOWLARKS near the Paulding County Line
Road at Ashwood just off of US 24 near Sherwood. 2/23 A yard full of Robins at her
Defiance/PauldingCo Line Road home. 3/25/2000 Tree Swallows, and a Golden-Crowned
Kinglet in her yard. 3/31/2000 Pam discovered in her yard a pink-sided
Junco. 4/14/2000
Pam A. reports
a YELLOW-HEADED
BLACKBIRD she
saw yesterday near Farmer. Millie C., the homeowner, said it had
been there three days total, but it was not there today.
4/15/2000
No time to bird
with my sister's wedding tomorrow, but a Common Snipe almost flew
into my open car window while going 55mph at SR 18 and Ashpacher Rd
between Sherwood and Defiance! Rough-Winged Swallows were first seen by me this year
half-a-block away in Sherwood OH. Drivingfrom Sherwood
OH to Grand Rapids OH and back a different route, 4/18/2000 Pam A. reports a Mockingbird in
her yard,near US24/SR 127. 4/23/2000 Pam A. reports the Mockingbird has left her yard.
4/30/2000
Went to
Pam & Phil
Adams' Estate
where the solitary highlight was a Solitary Sandpiper.
6/18/2000
While at
Spindler Cemetery on Breininger/Jericho Rd in Defiance County, I saw
not only the obligatory chipping sparrows but many many Dickcissels
as well! 8/27/00
Pam
reports a
MOURNING WARBLER in her yard today!10/25/2000Power Dam in Defiance OH was being worked on by
crews of men with loud jackhammers and much equipment, but still 8
Ring-Billed Gulls, 8 Great Blue Herons and 4 Song Sparrows persisted
as if they didn't exist. 11/10/00 Five Mile Creek on SR 111 had no waterfowl, except 5
Ring-Billed Gulls. Only the common birds were there: Cedar Waxwings,
Goldfinches, Bluebirds, Blue Jays, Juncos etc. Power Dam had many cement mixers and men
working, and so no birds.11/28/2000 Defiance's Power Damstill had plenty of loud machines and men
working on it, but 2 Great Blue Herons, 10 RingBilled Gulls and about
100 Canada Geese still were hanging around. 12/9/2000 A tour of Paulding found little of interest, even the birds
of the field being mere Horned Larks. BUT on Jericho Road, for the
entire mile between Farmer Mark Rd and Wonderly Rd were
SHORT-EARED OWLS
back in their
usual spot, flying with the usual neighbors, the Harriers. Two of the
owls were on telephone poles directly above the car, while at least 3
more were out dancing their bat-out-of-control flight over the field.
12/9/2000
A tour of
Paulding
found little of
interest, even the birds of the field being mere Horned Larks. BUT on
Jericho Road, for the entire mile between Farmer Mark Rd and Wonderly
Rd were SHORT-EARED OWLS back in their usual spot, flying
with the usual neighbors, the Harriers. Two of the owls were on
telephone poles directly above the car, while at least 3 more were
out dancing their bat-out-of-control flight over the
field.2
GRACKLES were at Pam Adam's feeders just outside
of Sherwood OH. 12/10/2000 Snow Buntings (about 75) were flying with
the Short-Eared Owls and Harriers.12/13/2000 9 Wild Turkeys just outside of Evansport,
feeding unconcerned, close to the road.12/14/2000 Mockingbird has been feeding at Pam's
house! 12/24/2000 Enroute to Christmas Eve party at SR 18
and FarmerMarkRoad was a Short-Eared Owl. 12/30/00 I also saw the Grackle at Pam's feeders again today, including
her "in-the-house" window feeder.1999PAM ADAMS, from her PauldingCo/DefianceCo Line farm near Sherwood has 9/20 Blackpoll, yellow, and magnolia warblers,
and common yellowthroatthere.
10/9 CONNECTICUT WARBLER and a YELLOW-BILLED
CUCKOO harrassed by a mob of bluejay. 10/11 PALM and YELLOW-RUMPED warblers.
10/18 birds are few as a COOPER'S HAWK hangs around harrassing even the
tame pond ducks.10/20/99 Pam reports a PINE GROSBEAK!!!!!!!
10/25/99 Finds
the farm barren except for English sparrows, starlings and two
Swainson's thrushes.12/19/99 Pam and Phil Adams report watching a
Cooper's
Hawk hunting
sparrows between Taco Bell and Quality Farm & Fleet on Defiance's
very busy Second Street!From her rural Cecil yard White Breasted
Nuthatch, Blue Jay, Cooper's Hawk, Red Bellied Woodpecker (all one
each), Downy Woodpecker, Black-Capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse (all
two each), Song Sparrow (3), European Starling (6), Cardinal and
Goldfinch at seven each, 9 American Tree Sparrows, and 24 House
Sparrows. at the corner of Jericho Road
andWonderly Road
are (every
year) SHORT-EARED OWLS, and this year is no exception with 3
there 12/12/99.1995 1/29/95 Buckskin/Bend a flock of Meadowlarks.